James Basire
(1730-1802), EngraverSitter in 1 portrait
Artist associated with 85 portraits
Basire was apprenticed to engraver Richard William Seale and afterwards travelled to Italy with the artist and engraver Roger Dalton. By the 1760s he had established a successful engraving practice. In 1755 Basire was appointed engraver to the Society of Antiquaries and after that time documentary or pictorial antiquarian engraving formed the majority of his work. Basire is best remembered for his 1770 engraving of the historical painting The Field of the Cloth of Gold (c.1550-80) that depicts the festivities following the meeting of Henry VIII with the French King Francis I in 1520. This was the largest engraving ever made and took Basire over two years to complete.
published by John Nichols
line engraving, published 1 August 1815
NPG D1024
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